Patent GB-658955-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to knitting machine
IPC: D04B9/10
Filed: 1946-12-17
Abstract: 658,955. Knitting. SCOTT & WILLIAMS, Inc. Dec. 17, 1946, No. 37138. Convention date, Dec. 18, 1945. [Class 74 (ii)] A superposed needle-cylinder machine comprises means carrying a wrap yarn for presentation to the needles and, within one cylinder, a support carrying means arranged to act as a "plating cam" on the wrap yarn, to tension said wrap yarn and effect plating of loops thereby following its presentation to the needles. Long flexible wrap yarn carriers 64 are rocked outwardly through the needle circle by cams on the main cam drum acting through Bowden wires 216, slides 212, cams 204 and sliders 72 having frangible butts. The lower ends of the carriers are arrested by an abutment 224, whilst selected needles to be wrapped pass them at wrapping level; and they are then positively returned through the needle circle by cams acting on butts 84 and return to their initial relative circumferential positions by reason of their resilience. The abutment 234 is held in position by a spring which allows it to yield if necessary (e.g. if a yarn carrier becomes caught by the needles). When a yarn carrier is projected, the yarn is drawn around a wrap horn 186, carried by a stationary cylinder 100 within the upper cylinder 3. As the carrier is retracted, the yarn is carried downwardly by a depending extension 87 on the carrier. Sliding, cam-controlled elements 22 in the upper cylinder are now lowered so that their lower edges 30 hold the yarn inwardly to ensure that rising unselected needles shall pass outside it; the elements also limit the flexing of the needles by the wrap yarn. At about the same time, the wrappped needles reach the portion 188 of the wrap horn, which tensions the yarn and holds it high in the needle hooks as the needles rise, to cause it to take up a plating position; this tensioning of the yarn is continued, as the needles descend cam 346, by the action on the yarn of a "plating cam" slope 194. Bits 24, also cam controlled, have verge ends 32 and assist in proper stitch formation by the uppercylinder needles. During heel and toe formation, the inactive instep needles are held at a low welt level. By an extra outward wave of the sinkers directly below the yarn finger, any part of the yarn trapped below the nibs of sinkers associated with the inactive needles is released on the return stroke. Parts 198, 200, 202 of a member 196 hold down heels and toes during the knitting operations and assist the wrap yarn take-up during wrap patterning. The lower cylinder needles are selected for wrapping by engagement of saw-tooth butts 14 on their sliders 4 with cams 238 engageable by levers 242, in turn engageable by element 246 in a trick wheel 248. The action of the elements 246 may be over-ridden and all the cams 238 withdrawn. The trick wheel is racked round by a cam 274, rotating with the upper cylinder and acting through a pawl 256 which may be disabled by allowing a lever 286 to rock, under spring action, so that a pin thereon no longer coincides with a notch 282 associated with the pawl 256. When widening is. to begin in formation of heels and toes, a cam 318 raises the tail of the lowering picker to lower its active end; this occurs as the picker is reached by the central group of active long butt sliders. The active end of the picker is engaged by the two inactive long butts following this group and carried forward to be moved downwardly by one of cams 312 and so to lower these butts to the active level. A lever 328 now drops below its tail to hold it at a level between the active and inactive levels of the long butt, so that it is passed by the inactive long butts preceding the active long butt series in both directions of reciprocation, being released to an upper level by a cam 340, which rocks lever 328 from beneath the picker tail at each end of each reciprocation when the picker is reached by the central long butt sliders. Forward and reverse narrowing pickers 390, 392 are provided. During heel formation, in order not to interrupt the continuity of wrap patterns from the front of the leg into the instep, the trick wheel 248 is stopped and the cams 238 are withdrawn. During toe formation, the trick wheel is set for the beginning of the next stocking. For this purpose, the cams 238 are withdrawn; and lever 286 is released, but is temporarily prevented from disabling pawl 256 by the presence of butts acting on its end 244, until the trick wheel has turned to present to the end 244 a trick having a butt missing at that level. Cams 360, 362 act on the transfer butts 12 of the lower sliders and transfer cams act on butts on the upper sliders; a dividing cam is provided for releasing sliders in both cylinders from the needles. By withdrawing a post 120 from a tube 118, the entire revolving wrap yarn assembly may be raised clear of interfering parts, to the upper dotted line position, Fig. 7; swung inside; and lowered to the left-hand dotted line position, for easy access to all parts of it. By reversing these operations the assembly may be replaced in operating position, being guided into it and there retained by engagement of a cone 134 on the upper end of a tube 136 and of an extension 124 in a notch in a block 126; a lever then overlies a push-rod through which a heel and toe take-up disc 104, which rotates with the wrap yarn assembly, may be raised by cams on the main cam drum. A stocking, Fig. 21, formed by the machine, comprises a 1 Î 1 rib top A; an integral leg and instep having broad ribs B and wrap patterns C in the panels between ribs ; a plain sole G; a plain ring toe H; and a toe I in which narrowing and widening are carried out as for the heel. Specifications 301,350, [Class 74 (ii)], 411,300, 532,577 and 549,239 are referred to.